The ornaments, featuring the county’s landmarks and nature’s attractions have all been made by the students in the entire county, including both the Warren County Career Center and the Tidioute Community Charter School. Students designed and created the ornaments over the past few months. The wood shop and welding shop instructor class taught by David Manning of the Tidioute Community Charter School, and Nicole Doverspike, teacher of the pre-engineering class at the Warren County Career Center, both had students that participated in this one-of-a kind project.

Every part of the ornament was locally sourced. A long-standing company called the Ribbon Factory in Titusville made the green ribbons found on the ornaments made by the Tidioute students. Warren’s Tybout House spun and donated the red yarn for the Career Center students’ ornaments. The Lumber was donated by Cochran and Zandi Lumber and Sabella Forest Products. Oneida Ace Hardware of Warren donated the finishing spray.

All of the proceeds go back to the respective school’s shop or pre-engineering classes. The Warren County Visitor’s Bureau has these for sale with a suggested donation of $5 (cash only.) So far, the following stores also have these ornaments for sale: the J. Lauren Interior Design in Tidioute, Moore’s Garden Shop in Tidioute, Tybout House in Warren, and Bean Bank Enterprises in Youngsville.

While students at the Warren County Career Center took on historical landmarks of the city as well as some county-wide attractions, the students from Tidioute made designs that included many of the small communities such as Sugar Grove, Grand Valley, Youngsville, Sheffield, Pine Grove, and Tidioute. School mascots and the Tidioute Bridge are both among the various designs.

Tidoute Community Charter School also makes a borough ornament on acrylic, lasering snowflakes with a lasered print of the Tidioute Bridge. They’ve made these ornaments for the past 4 years as well as cutting boards and other items.

Manning shared how they used the C&C router to get shapes, then split on bandsaw, and sent through the drum sander to smooth – work all done by students. TCCS made this project a school-wide project, meaning that at TCCS, all students in the school participated in coming up with designs.

“Students really enjoyed coming together, they really worked hard on this whole school-based project,” Manning said. “It’s important for me to know that their work ethic and what we’ve taught them all through the years really comes together, but for them to see that it’s not just about them. They took projects that weren’t necessarily theirs, put them on these ornaments that are going to go all over the county and probably all over the country.”

People have already shared that they will be shipping some to friends and family outside Warren county, just in time for Christmas.

Cameron Kibbey, a senior at Tidioute Community Charter School, shared that, “It’s just nice to know that we are getting a little bit of representation, even if they don’t really know what I am doing but I think it’s just really nice to give back to the community any way I can.”

Focusing on landmarks around the Warren area, Mrs. Doverspike’s pre-engineering class made designs from such places as the Kinzua Dam, the courthouse, and even the parking garage.

“It’s really nice to see everyone choose their own favorite thing and take it on their own and make something really great from it. It’s nice to show students that these programs in engineering you can really make and take your own and make almost anything, a project they can see and hold, come to life for the community.”

Philip Nickerson, a junior at Warren County Career Center shared that he chose the Manson House as his design because it is the oldest building in Warren.

“This taught us a lot about our community and what landmarks we have and just the overall impact it can have,” Nickerson said. “I think as an organization, we have a responsibility to involve our youth, and there’s a lot of talented kids. Going to trade schools is becoming more and more popular.”